The Blog

The topics of money, wealth, and what Christian economy should look like are as vital to the rebirth of the Christian church as they are uncomfortable for Christians to talk about. Why? Because the economy of a faith community should be in stark contrast to the economy of empire.

Within the next couple of months, our faith community’s residential program will end and the home we’ve shared with nearly two-dozen folks over the past year and a half will be vacant. That closure will be followed by approximately a year of construction and renovations to make the property safe and livable again.

Thinking about this Thanksgiving holiday got me reflecting about gratitude and sharing a table with friends. I thought it could be interesting to consider how Jesus shared a table — which he did often. Multiplied out over a the span of a year, that’s almost 1,100 meals!

In the book of Luke alone, there are 10 stories of Jesus dining with various people. Let’s revisit these stories and ask how the tables of the first century after Christ’s birth could relate to ours today in 2018.

Those moments when the church expects or assumes a shared cultural connection are simultaneously the most unifying and divisive moments we have experienced in the church, because in these moments new/unorthodox folks can go from feeling included to feeling like spectators. It can be easy to forget that some cultural hurdles are impossible (or inappropriate) for some people to overcome and, without ill-intention, we may foster an environment where folks are continually confronted with the reality they can never fully enter our community.

This is a problem, because Christian communities must accommodate and integrate outsiders.

Why is it that we don't always recognize so many Biblical heroes start as underdogs? God used ordinary people to show His extraordinary goodness. When Jesus was on earth, he surrounded himself with underdogs -- misfits, outcasts, and societal losers.